Truth is a Whisper
by Call the Winds
Summary: RaimundoxClay slash...CONTAINS YAOI and almost rape!
1. Chapter 1

Yo! This is a Rai/Clay fic…gonna be a long one too…MY FIRST FIC! YAY!

I heart reviews and Flamers need lives

Nuff said.

Call the Winds

Chapter 1

"RAIMUNDO PEDROSA! GET BACK HERE! I'LL TEAR OUT YOUR GUTS IF I FIND **ONE** MALFUNCTION ON MY PDA! YOU HEAR ME!"

Of course he didn't.

Raimundo was too busy pressing random buttons on Kimiko's PDA while running for his life from the hot headed Dragon of Fire. He was just having too much fun.

"Lets see…oooh…a reminder on her calendar for a make-up training session with Master Fung…can't have that can we?" he snickered as he erased the reminder from her calendar.

He also added on her main wallpaper 'Rai waz here', switched dates and times on her calendar, erased most of her contacts and switched the language program from Japanese to Portuguese.

He looked behind him and saw Kimiko still trailing behind, sweating her brains out, her hair out of place (for once) and panting like a winded rhinoceros.

"Giving up yet, Kimi?" teased Rai, still fiddling with the wondrous piece of machinery.

"NOT A CHANCE!" she screeched.

Rai smirked. Kimiko was almost out of breath and energy; she would crash sooner than later he thought.

It was a mere matter of seconds before they reached the Great Hall. Rai was just starting to lose breath while Kimiko's lungs were about to explode, yet she refused to give up and her flaming anger wasn't about to subside either.

Rai gave a cocky look over his shoulder and yelled:

"You may as well give up, Kim. You're not gonna catch up with me! The only one faster than me in this building is Omi. And he's out training! Y-"

_BANG!_

Unable to continue his speech further, Rai found that there was a wall blocking his way. A DEAD END!

He had taken a wrong turn…damn…if only his stupid pride didn't get in the way then he could actually see where he was going.

Kimiko was standing about 10 feet away from him, sweating, panting and livid with anger. Rai had pushed her WAY beyond her (abnormally small) limits and she was back for revenge.

"_Damn I'm screwed…oh well…it was worth it…I guess I'm the kind of guy who's willing to trade a week's worth of fun for a black eye."_

As much as he tried to deny it, Rai was practically shitting his pants.

"RAI…MUN…DO!" Kimiko was so mad that her eyes didn't even have pupils anymore.

"Yeah?"

"YOU'RE DEAD!"

Rai sighed and closed his eyes preparing for the worst as Kimiko came charging like an angry boar. He did flinch a little as she was coming closer. I mean, her punches DID hurt…but what's done is done…and messing with her PDA and getting hit for it was a hell of a lot better than sweeping the halls like he was 'supposed' to be doing.

He waited for a couple of seconds…and waited…and waited…but nothing came. No pain in his ribs or his eye or his arm. HUH?

Rai opened his eyes to find that Clay held Kimiko back by her wrists and she was kicking and screaming in protest.

"LET GO OF MY CLAY! I'M GONNA TEAR HIM TO SHREDS!"

"Sheesh, calm down there partner. You don't have ta kill him."

Omi appeared out of nowhere as well, seemingly hiding behind Clay's ankles. He stood in front of Kimiko now.

"Indeed. Kimiko my friend, would you care for some tea?" he asked hopefully.

"NO! I DON'T WANT TEA OMI!" screamed Kimiko, making Omi hang his head and look to Raimundo, who looked like he was too scared to run for his life.

If Clay wasn't there, he literally would've died.

"C'mon now Kimi. If Rai apologized for messing with your watcha-ma-callit, would you forgive him?" attempted Clay.

"Yes! Clay is right, Kimiko. Let's make peace!" he smiled innocently.

His attempt seemed to have worked.

Less angry and less tense, Kimiko relaxed her clenched fists, though still thoroughly pissed off; she didn't want to take her anger out on Clay and Omi. She'd get Rai when he was alone…all alone.

"Fine whatever. But only if he apologizes and gives it back."

Clay smiled and looked to Rai.

"Rai?"

"I-I'm sorry. H-Here." he said shakily, handing Kim back her PDA.

She snatched it from him and stormed off.

"I'll get you, Raimundo. Clay and Omi won't be there to save your ass next time!" Kimiko yelled as she was making adjustments to her machine and slamming her door to her room, planning to call Keiko on her cell to tell her how impossible boys were.

Clay and Omi stood in silence in front of Rai, still wide eyed and panting for breath.

"T-Thanks guys. I couldn't even tell you how close that was…"

"No need to thank us, Raimundo. We merely placed a cover on your backside."

Rai blushed. He hated it when Omi said that.

Clay chuckled.

"It's 'We've got you covered', partner."

"That too!"

Hehe! So what do ya think?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

After the last training exercise of the day and dinner, Omi went straight to bed (upside down) and Kimiko was STILL ranting to her friend on the phone. Clay however, was nowhere to be seen.

Rai collapsed on his bed and moved to the side of his pillow in deep thought…about stuff…random stuff like the last training exercise (they were supposed to fight each other in a small space blindfolded. That's when Kimiko decided to kick his ass. In fact, she took some of her anger out on Clay and Omi too.

Even if defeating all three of your opponents was the whole point of the exercise, Rai still couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Not the deal with Kimiko's PDA, I mean, he did that almost on a regular basis. But when Clay and Omi came to his rescue…they didn't have to do that…

Rai got up and walked out the door. He didn't feel like sleeping. There were too many thoughts on his mind. He decided that he was hungry and he was going to raid the kitchen for something to eat. Maybe some cookie dough (but he wouldn't go overboard like Omi…)

When he reached the kitchen, he realized that someone had already beaten him to the kitchen. The American cowboy was already eating spoonful upon spoonful of a small bowl of cookie dough.

"Hey partner."

"Hey." said Rai, waving a little.

So this is where Clay went every night…

Before he could even ask, Clay was faster than him once again, which was a bit surprising!

"Care to join me?"

Rai nodded and grabbed his own little bowl of cookie dough and started chowing down. Mmmm… cookie dough….Rai almost couldn't blame Omi for having a cookie dough obsession…it was so good…

Rai broke the silence that they had while eating the yummy cookie dough.

"So is this where you go every night?" he asked.

Clay shrugged.

"Pretty much. But I always eat something new every night. This time it's cookie dough! I feel like Omi right now." he laughed.

Rai laughed with him.

"Heh, yeah! Me too!"

The two friends laughed until it was too awkward. Then they kept eating…well…at least Clay did…

Rai was too busy staring at him, almost in admiration and curiosity.

Clay almost looked like one of those cool Texas cowboys in a saloon or something. It gave him an accelerating sensation to look at Clay. He didn't know why, but Rai was beginning to look at Clay from an entirely different perspective.

He started to notice his beautiful blue eyes…so deep and light…then the broad shoulders and the strong arms and legs…but under that strong and huge figure was the gentlest person you'd ever hope to see…

"Rai? Hey! Rai!" Clay exclaimed, immediately snapping Rai out of his daydream (even if it was in the middle of the night)

"Huh? Wha? What up?"

"You ok, partner? It looked like you were in a trance. You didn't even finish your durn cookie dough."

Rai looked down to see that only half of his bowl was finished.

"Oh I'm fine. I'm just…not hungry anymore. You wanna finish it?"

"Sure!"

Clay eagerly grabbed the bowl of cookie dough and started chowing down again.

Rai was entranced once again…

"_Damn…how could I not notice Clay like this before? How could I have been so blind? Man, I feel like I could stare into those oceanic eyes all night…he's so sexy..."_

"WHAAAAT!"

Raimundo screamed in real life and slapped himself.

GOD! WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING! TO THINK THAT COOKIE DOUGH COULD HAVE THE SAME EFFECTS AS CRACK!

"Rai? What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

YES SOMETHING'S WRONG! EVERYTHING IS WRONG! I'M NEVER EATING COOKIE DOUGH AGAIN!

Raimundo was twitching and slowly backing away.

"Y-Y-Yeah! Everything's f-fine! I'm fine! I swear!"

Clay got up from his seat, sheer concern in his sparkling blue eyes. So pretty…

"Sure you don't wanna talk about it, Rai?" he asked in a soft voice.

Rai almost winced. Clay was showing so much concern…so much affection…

All these feelings were too much for the young Brazilian to handle. He almost felt like jumping into Clay's arms into a tight embrace, but he couldn't. Clay would never speak or look at him again.

With a huge lump in his throat, Raimundo shut his eyes and ran down the hall telling Clay that he was going to bed.

Clay's affectionate look never left his face, he even thrusted his arm out to his friend, but he knew that he would never be able to catch up with the Dragon of Wind.

"Raimundo…"

When Rai got to his room, he slammed the door shut and locked it. WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HIM! MAKING CLAY WORRY LIKE THAT OVER AN UTTERLY WRONG THOUGHT HE HAD?

But the look on his face…imprinted in Rai's mind as he was torn apart inside by so many mixed emotions.

"I should apologize tomorrow…" he said, collapsing on his mat and pulling the covers up sinking his head into his pillow.


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter is dedicated to Amoral Butterfly and lil miss insane. CAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES WHO REVIEWED! YOU WILL ONLY BE ADDED TO THIS THINGY IF YOU REVIEW!

You two r awesome!

Chapter 3

The next day, Rai woke up to find that everyone had eaten breakfast without him when he saw all of the dirty plates in the sink, waiting to be washed. How come he never got up on time?

"Mornin' partner. You sleep good?" asked a voice from behind him.

Rai whirled around to see that Clay was leaning against one of the pillars in the hall and tipping his ten gallon hat.

Raimundo felt a blast of fire, something burning, almost urging feeling inside his chest when he took a look at Clay.

A tight knot tied in his heart and worked its way up to his throat. He had never felt this way before! Especially around Clay!

Speaking of Clay…

"Hey, uh…Clay? Sorry about yesterday….I just had a weird thought…"

Clay smiled.

"Aw, there's nothing for ya'll to apologize for. Everyone has their moments. Sure you don't wanna talk 'bout it?"

"No, it's ok. Thanks anyway though."

Clay shrugged. "No problem."

Now it was Rai's turn to smile. He was silently thankful that Clay wasn't as nosy as Kimiko or Omi.

"Gonna eat breakfast soon, Rai?"

Oh yeah! Breakfast! Rai forgot all about breakfast. But come to think of it…he wasn't really hungry at all.

"I don't wanna. Where are Kimiko and Omi? We have to do the dishes!"

"Kimiko went back to Japan for her cousin's birthday and Omi's at a super hard training course in the mountains. They'll both be gone for a couple of days."

Without knowing why, Rai felt an incredibly strong wave of happiness wash away the anxious feelings he had. Alone for two days with Clay! He was mentally jumping for joy…for no reason at all.

"Hey guys! Get over here! I'm sensing a new Sheng Gong Wu!" said Dojo, slithering down the halls and carrying the giant Wu scroll.

"It's called The Spiral of Demons."

As Dojo opened the scroll, two black stick figures stood next to each other. One of them had the circle-shaped wu with a spiral in the middle and out came another stick figure, with red eyes!

"Whoever possesses The Spiral of Demons has the power to create evil copies of whomever they choose. It can be most dangerous in the wrong hands!"

Rai studied the image of the wu in the scroll well. Somehow it looked familiar…

"Well, partners, let's get a move on before the Heylin side finds it first!"

Rai and Dojo nodded as Dojo went from a 20 inch gecko to a 30 foot dragon.

"Come on guys! Hop on!"

The two warriors swung their legs over Dojo's body as they soared into the sky. Clay sat more to Dojo's neck, while Rai was right in the center. He didn't want to awe at his friend with him noticing.

Just looking at Clay was like a new addiction. He couldn't take his eyes off him…

It was a burst of fire burning inside that he had to cool off. And the only way he could do that was by looking at Clay.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!

Rai was snapped out of his daydreams when Dojo announced their arrival.

"Here we are, kids. The Amazon rainforest."

We're in Brazil?

Dojo was flying over an ocean of green trees, humid air swirling in the tree tops. Mist erased some of the trees; colorful birds flew with Dojo, Clay and Rai gazing at their beauty and descended back into the rainforest. A huge river washed up against the shore of the forest and made a streak of blue across the seemingly endless green.

Rai savored the few seconds of flying over his home country. The brilliant burning sun on his body and the wind blowing in his face. He held his arms out and closed his eyes as he flew with his element. Paradise…

"Feel at home, partner?"

Once again Rai was brought back in the real world by the sound of Clay's majestic voice.

Rai nodded as they flew down on the river bank.

When they got off Dojo, Clay and Rai took a moment to see the other side of the river…to stare at the wonderful landscape that Rai called home.

Clay could hear Rai's unsteady breathing of exhilaration and delight and he smiled.

"Can hardly blame ya'll for bein' anxious. It's really gorgeous."

They both stood in silence to stare at the colorful, amazing scenes of nature…the birds calling throughout the sky….the sound of the breezes on the leaves, making a fine rustling sound…_the sound of the Wind and the Earth._

"Hey look! It's the Xiaolin Losers!"

Both dragons whirled around (with Dojo under Clay's hat) to find their nemesis on his helipack, Jack Spicer with his infamous haurd of Jack-bots behind him.

"Don't stand there and gawk, boy! Get the Sheng Gong Wu before those annoying pests!" nagged Wuya.

The floating purple ghost flew by the shoulder of Jack as he commanded his robots to do his 'evil' bidding of getting rid of Clay and Rai.

"JACK- BOTS! ATTACK!"

As the hunks of metal approached the two dragons, they were already prepared to strike.

"SYSMIC KICK! EARTH!" shouted Clay, thrusting his foot into the ground destroying the many Jack-Bots that flew down to terminate them.

"TYPHOON BOOM! WIND!"

A tornado rose from the palms of Rai's hands when he clapped them together, sending the Jack-Bots to a scrap pile down below.

"You may as well give up Spicer! You'll never- huh?"

Rai stopped talking immediately when he saw his medallion glowing. Brilliant blasts of golden color created a strong aura of energy and the swirl in the middle started to spin rapidly, forming the image of a skull in the center.

Everyone was speechless. Clay tipped his hat back so he could see with both eyes and Jack and Wuya just stared in awe and disbelief as Rai declared:

"The…The Spiral of Demons!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"I-It's mine!" cried Jack soaring down to the ground reaching his hand out for Rai's medallion.

"Oh no you don't!"

Clay leapt in the air and thrusted his arm forward.

Jack and Clay both grabbed the medallion at the same time!

Rai stood helplessly like a statue as Jack said the infamous words.

"Clay, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!"

Clay looked up at his nemesis, only one eye showing through his straw colored hair.

"Name your game, ya' yellow-bellied thumb sucker."

Jack tore Rai's medallion off his neck and threw it into the rainforest.

"Whoever finds the medallion in the forest wins. My Third Arm Sash for your Falcon's Eye!"

"I accept!"

Then Jack and Clay said the final line in unison.

"Let's go! XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!"

With a burst of white light and a crashing boom, the trees turned 30 feet taller and the branches became larger, longer and stretching out across the landscape.

Clay and Rai were now in their navy blue ninja uniforms and the screen split between Clay and Jack as they shouted: "GONG YI TAN PAI!"

Jack flew through the tree tops on his helipack while Clay hopped from one gigantic branch to another.

"You can do it Clay!" Rai yelled from one of the side trees.

Clay gave him a thumbs up and disappeared to another branch.

Rai smiled, he couldn't stop the wave of thoughts that washed up in his head.

Man…he is so cool…wait…WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING! CLAY'S IN THE MIDDLE OF A SHOWDOWN AND I STILL CAN'T STOP STARING AT HIM! GOD, I'M SUCH A FREAK!

But then something caught his eye…in a little puddle at the forest floor.

"CLAY! I see it! It's right there! Second tree over!"

Clay nodded and ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the direction where Rai pointed. High up in the tree top, he activated his wu to see it clearly.

"Falcon's Eye!"

The telescope-like wu made him able to see the shining medallion in crystal vision.

"I see it!"

Clay jumped down from the tree branch to the forest floor and ran to the small puddle. Jack flew next to him, appearing out of nowhere. Pushing Clay out of the way, Jack activated his wu.

"Third Arm Sash!" Jack's wu was merely seconds away from grabbing the wu.

Clay had to act now. After all, it wasn't just a Sheng Gong Wu…it was Rai's medallion.

Pushing himself off the ground, Clay violently pounded his fists into the floor with great force.

"EARTH!"

Instantly, a huge wall of earth blocked the path of the Third Arm Sash and sent it flying back to Jack. Jack fell to the ground as Clay ran to the other side of the clearing to get the wu. Jack recovered quickly and smirked as he scrambled to his feet.

"Heh. Too slow!"

The Third Arm Sash grabbed Clay's leg and tripped him, while Jack snatched the Spiral of Demons.

"No!" cried Clay desperately.

But it was too late.

Another blinding flash of light declared the end of the showdown and set the landscape back to its original form.

"Hahaha! Score! So long Losers!" cackled the red-headed goth as he flew away with three Sheng Gong Wu cradled in his arms.

Clay was back on his feet and Rai was a short distance away, eyeing Clay clenching both his fists and his teeth, shaking with livid anger.

Rai was almost cowering in fear of Clay's fury. He had never really seen negative open emotions of Clay before. In fact, he wasn't used to seeing Clay showing any emotion at all. His face was either blank or unreadable…at least before this week. It scared Rai when he thought about what Clay might do with his anger…if any actions at all. He could deal with Kimiko channeling her rage into something physical, but she did that practically every day; unlike Clay who was always so calm and controlled…

Dojo appeared from under Clay's hat and transformed into his larger size.

"Don't worry Clay. There's always next time."

Clay ignored Dojo's words of encouragement, but his anger subsided slightly; Rai could tell by the lack of tenseness in his shoulders and the unclenched fists but he didn't dare look at his face.

As Clay swung on to Dojo, Rai was still deciding where to sit. His mind told him to keep his distance from the Dragon of Earth, but his heart told him to move closer.

Rai decided to listen to his heart and move only one spike away from Clay.

Flying through the sky usually gave Rai an exhilarating and delightful feeling, but not this time. He was lost in thought. One side of his mind was thinking about how to approach Clay when the time was right and the other side was wandering in sorrow about his missing medallion. He traced his finger around his neck; disheartening feelings consumed him when he didn't feel a golden chain or a weight on his neck.

Suddenly, Rai thought he heard a sound coming from Clay. He couldn't make out what the word was though.

"W-What was that, Clay?"

"Sorry. I lost the showdown. I lost your medallion. I wasn't fast enough to beat Jack. Sorry."

Rai was shocked. Clay's voice wasn't carrying any trace of anger or aggravation. It was the tone of voice that he used with Rai last night…a soft, sweet, gentle voice.

Rai let his emotions take over; relieving the feelings he had to deal with for more than a day as he threw his arms around Clay's neck and pulled him into a warm, tight hug.

Rai could feel Clay's rapid heart beat in the palm of his hand. Clay was blushing a deep shade of red as he turned around in sheer disbelief.

"R-Rai?"

The Dragon of Wind smiled. Now it was his turn to be unpredictable.

"It's ok. We'll get it back! It wasn't your fault, Clay."

After a moment of great silence, Clay reached over and held onto Rai's arm.

"Thank you."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Later on that night, Rai found himself staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep again. Master Fung reminded Clay that he had made an excellent attempt to retrieve the wu and then said the more complicated version of 'you win some you lose some'. Rai knew Clay wasn't angry anymore…but he was still a little upset. Clay never made such a big deal over a lost wu before. He wondered what made this time so special.

And then he remembered Clay's words when they were riding back to the temple.

"_Sorry. I lost the Showdown. I lost your medallion. I wasn't fast enough to beat Jack. Sorry."_

Whoa! Was he upset because he knew I cherished that medallion? So that's it! Aw man!

Rai jumped off his mat and ran to the kitchen. He had to reassure Clay that they would get it back and not to worry…

But surprisingly, Clay wasn't there. The table was clear and the not another soul was in the kitchen. The wind blew through the window, making the only noise in the whole room.

Where was Clay?

Rai ran to his room, up and down the halls, checking the training grounds, the Great Hall, and finally, the Courtyard.

That's where he found Clay.

Clay was not far from the tree, lying under the stars in the middle of the field.

Raimundo walked slowly toward his friend, and Clay once again stole his words from his mouth.

"Hey partner. Care to join me?"

Rai nodded and plopped next to his friend, hands behind his back and gazing at the shimmering silver dots that were scattered across an endless streak of midnight black.

"You know, there are patterns and designs in the stars. Some of them tell stories."

As much as Raimundo wanted to believe his friend, he simply couldn't.

"How can you find stories in a random assortment of dots? How are you even able to see the patterns?"

Clay chuckled.

"Well, I'll show you. Let's see now…ah! There's one! This one is called Capricorn; the goat-fish!"

Rai could barely restrain himself from dying of laughter. Goat-fish! Where do people come up with this stuff?

"Do you see it?" asked Clay, pointing to an unreadable cluster of stars.

"No. I don't see no goat-fish."

It wasn't until Clay guided Rai's wrist as he held out his index finger to trace the image of Capricorn that Rai was able to get the basic idea of what it looked like.

"So…what's HIS story? The goat-fish." asked Rai, holding his breath so he wouldn't fall into a fit of laughter.

"Well, Capricorn used to be a magician. But when local villagers wanted him dead, he was running for his life from an angry mob. He was planning on transforming himself into an animal so the villagers wouldn't recognize him and he could escape safely. He planned on turning into a goat. But he was looking behind him too much and he didn't realize that there was a river right in his path. He ran right into the river as a goat, but before he hit the water he wanted to change into a fish. But there simply wasn't enough time to change from one animal to another in less than a second, so he ended up being a mix of both. Then when he died, he flew up to the sky, his image seen in a cluster of stars."

"Wow. What a dumb ass."

"Yep, sharp as a marble that critter." laughed Clay. Rai laughed with him.

"Where'd you learn this stuff?"

"My pa. He always used to tell me these things when I was a boy. They were important for me to know because the constellations can help you find your way home if you're lost in the desert or something. Pa purposely didn't use a compass to test me to see if I could find my way home on a cattle drive by using the stars."

"Wow…that's so cool…"

Man…I wish I had a father…

Rai asked Clay to point out another one. Then Clay guided his hand across another cluster to form Aries, the Ram. Clay told Aries' story next. He said that Aries was brought into the sky as a hero when he saved his two brothers from their evil step mother.

Raimundo was having the time of his life, listening to the stories of the constellations and having Clay gingerly guide his wrist to trace the hidden images and laughing with Clay when he commented on a myth. It amazed Rai how blind he was...completely unaware that there was so much ancient folklore in patterns of dots. Because that's what stars were, right? Dots?

No…it HAD to be more than that.

"Hey Clay? What do you think stars are exactly?"

Clay shrugged.

"Dead people. What 'bout you?"

"I don't know. No one ever really told me…actually took the time to lay with me under the stars like you are."

Rai felt a pang of sadness growing in his chest and working its way up to his throat. He wished he had bit his tongue. But regret lasted only a moment.

Clay moved closer to Rai, putting his right hand on Rai's shoulder and the left across his stomach and pulled Rai close into a gentle embrace.

Rai's heart was pounding again with a mixture of happiness and confusion. His shoulders were immediately relaxed when he felt Clay's soft, warm breath against this neck.

"C-Clay?" whispered Rai, throwing his arms around Clay's neck once more, hugging him back.

"H-How come-"

"Shh…"

Before Rai could finish his sentence, Clay pulled him closer; his beautiful sapphire eyes were filled with open affection. It melted Rai's heart and blew him away like the gusts of wind he was able to create from the palm of his hand.

"It…it just feels right…"

They were both able to say no more, holding each other in their arms under the brilliant glistening stars.

"Clay?"

"Mm?"

"Do you think my parents are up there?" he asked as he laid his head on Clay's chest.

"Of course. Everyone goes up there when they die. I bet they're looking down on you right now, Rai." he smiled, reassuring his friend by pulling him closer.

Rai smiled back, his eyelids growing heavy. Gripping Clay's shirt tighter, Rai closed his eyes with the sound of the midnight breeze and Clay's heartbeat.

Clay watched his friend lovingly, falling asleep in his arms and curling up against his body. Clay almost felt like an older brother, teaching Raimundo all about the constellations and how fascinated Rai seemed and how eager he was to learn more…

He was almost like a little kid. Clay laughed in his head at that thought…but then his thoughts turned to what Rai's past must have been like…having no arms to fall into…no place to call home at such an early age…and then getting a job the second he was old enough…it must've been a hard life…

Clay glanced at Rai again, running his free hand across Rai's hair and then delicately feeling his shoulder. Gazing at Raimundo's sleeping figure…so peaceful…so adorable…GAH! WHAT AM I THINKING!

Clay mentally slapped himself, his arms tensing and his heart beat increasing. He wanted to run around in circles, scream and bang his head against the wall for thinking such a thought…but he couldn't because he didn't want to wake Rai up. Man, if Rai could read minds, he would probably get a one-way ticket out of China just to get away from him! _"Rai would think I was freakier than a two headed cow on walking sticks!"_

Rai moaned a little in his sleep and gripped Clay's shirt tighter.

"_Shit! You're gonna wake him up, ya' yellow belly! Ok…ok…deep breaths…get your heart beat normal again…just a weird thought…weird thought…"_

Clay quit thinking to himself and felt an extreme feeling of relief when he saw Rai's brows un-creasing and his grip loosening.

Clay sighed and let his thoughts wander again.

"_Rai is indeed cute, that much is a fact…but…what if he HEARD me think that? What would he think of me? Aw, who cares? I'm tired…"_

Looking at Rai sleeping this whole time made him want to go to sleep all the more.

Clay yawned and tipped his hat over his eyes.

"'Night Rai…" he whispered before drifting off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

To my wonderful Reviewers: Soraetowaru, xSwtLilAngel666x, Negitive Zero, Flapdoodle-Rhadamante and Amoral Butterfly.

You guys rule!

Chapter 6

_Rai fell to the bottom of a dark abyss, shadows casting over his surroundings like the black fog descending from above. The sky was a heavy contrast of grey and black, the stars disappearing and the silvery moon taken away by the black clouds. Rai shivered as the wind blew over his bare arms. He whimpered slightly as the winds blew stronger. But something was wrong! Rai's voice was lighter, squeakier. He looked at his arms and legs and realized that he was in the body of a four year old, dressed in overalls and a white t-shirt! Rai shouted and his childish voice echoed through the ebony landscape. _

"_Mommy?" he called out into the darkness…but all he heard was his own voice._

"_Mommy!" he screamed in another direction, though never to get an answer._

_Rai's eyes welled up with tears and one was slowly riding down his cheek as he helplessly fell to his knees._

"…_anybody?"_

_His weak, final call for help was forced out of his throat between huge, choking sobs. As Kimiko described the day before he was alone…so utterly alone…_

_Tears were soon flowing like a river out of the small boy's eyes. He held his knees and cried silently…wishing to go home…back to his house in Brazil. His home…a simple two story house with a beautiful garden…so colorful and alive…so full of life and the love that his mother felt for it…_

_Mommy…_

"_C-Can I go home?"_

_As if the wind had heard his call, the mist cleared and Rai was in front of his home. At once he jumped to his feet and smiled widely, but the smile soon turned to a horrified look. Indeed he was home…and yet he wasn't…_

_The house was a dark ebony color and bathed in a ghastly grey fog. The garden was a mix of black and purple color, with dead leaves and flower pedals that fell to the ground and made a crisp noise when they reached it. The shattered windows and the open swinging door let out an aura of darkness...that kicked up a storm inside of Rai's chest, screaming at him not to go inside. A cold feeling swept over Rai when the wind blew in the same direction, pulling him into the house. Leaves followed at his ankles as he went inside his empty home._

_The house looked as if it hadn't been used in years. The hallway was quiet and empty. White sheets covered all of the pieces of furniture and fluttered with the currents of the wind. _

_Rai grabbed the railing and went upstairs to his parent's room. Maybe they were there._

_Once again he was right, and yet he was so very wrong._

_On the floor of the room, lying in a pool of crimson blood, were the bodies of his parents. All Rai could do was stare in horror…nothing but confusion could be seen in the purity of his emerald eyes._

_He moved close to his mother's body, watching her cold stare…the spark of life not in her eyes anymore…just a blank, bare look. Her eyes would never move again…he felt her white skin…it was a deathly cold…and ice cold…_

_He tried to say her name, but his throat and his jaws were slammed shut…he could feel her blood gushing between his fingers…was this an illusion? A mirage? Or was it real?_

_Rai started to get tears in his eyes, almost angry in frustration when he shook the corpse and called his mother's name countless times, but she did not reply._

_As much as Rai tried to speak after that, he couldn't. He couldn't think of anything to say…gazing at the body of his mother…the open eyes would always be looking down…no matter how much he tried to move them towards him. Her mouth would never open…her body would never move…her soul would never again return to Earth._

_Terrified and confused, Rai could only move back in a heart breaking glance, the tears in his eyes reducing the unbearable image to an unclear reflection._

_Suddenly, Rai felt a knife dig into his shoulder, stabbing him and severing his ligaments and drawing blood…so much blood…_

_The little boy screamed in pain as he plunged to the ground, grasping his shoulder and feeling his own blood trickle down his arm. The stinging and screaming pain was more than he could bear, not being able to get up from the ground after that surprise attack._

_Rai could hear a man's voice behind him and laughing wickedly in a hoarse voice._

"_See how generous I can be, kid? You can die next to mommy!"_

_Raising his blade again, Rai not only felt another searing pain, but the pain of thinking too hard. Fear and panic surged through his veins and a mixture of confusion and sorrow was pouring out through his countless tears._

_Stabbed another time by the cursed knife, the tears began to stop…the pain was so much that it began to numb…he had to get used to the numbed pain praying that it would be over soon…his mind was wandering to his death…how it would hurt…how he would join his mother…how she would embrace him…_

_Then he punched him hard in the stomach. Rai found it hard to breathe as he tried to get on his knees, but the pain in his abdominals would always send him back down to the ground, his lungs begging for air._

"_SAY GOOD BYE!" he screamed, heading a final stab to his heart. Rai squeezed his eyes shut and a tear rolled down his face._

"_Is this it? Am I going to die? Or…am I…already…gone?"_

"_EARTH!"_

_Suddenly, a huge landslide knocked the villain off his feet and sent him down to the first floor with the knife in his chest._

_Two large arms swept up the crying child as they fled out of the house and watched the house crumble…but Rai believed that the house was already dead…_

_Sobbing uncontrollably in the mysterious person's huge warm chest, Rai looked up to see the face of his rescuer._

_Clay was staring down at him affectionately, wiping a tear away from the child's face and gently bringing him back into his arms._

"_Shh…it's ok…I won't let anyone hurt you…"_

And that's when Rai woke.

Rai saw a blinding flash of white light and he was awake at last.

He felt fresh tears stain his cheeks and the same two arms that he thought were fantasized in his fucked up mind were real.

Clay had Rai strongly in a tight embrace. Rai could hear himself breathe in a shaky pattern and he found his own arms clamping tightly around Clay's shoulders.

At first, Clay didn't say a word. But when he did, Rai felt his heart jolting upward then it felt like it was touching the floor.

"Rai…you're ok…" Clay said in a mellow whisper.

Raimundo looked deeply into the eyes of his friend…a beautiful vortex that sucked up his inner strength. Clay's look of pity had stripped him of everything, until nothing was left but fear and weakness…Rai was opened like a book, waiting to be read. He could not hide anything.

He felt a tear of shame come down his eyes when he left the warm sanctuary of Clay's arms.

"…I'm sorry…what…what…happened?"

Clay himself winced as he felt a pang of his own fear of remembering the horror that was imprinted on Rai's face…what he imagined what Rai must have been feeling…the scene of his friend enduring so much pain in his sleep was so utterly insufferable.

"You were thrashing around on your mat, bawling and grabbing your shoulder, howling in pain. I started to panic. I didn't know what was wrong with you. It was almost as if you were being attacked! I tried everything to wake you up: shouting, shaking you, the Orb of Tornami…it even got to the point where I was so desperate that I punched you in the stomach!"

Rai started to feel sick when he remembered the image of the killer hitting him in the same fashion that Clay described. He also realized that he was soaking wet; his shirt and pants started to stick to him.

"I tried literally everything…it hurt so much to see you in pain…and yet I caused more of it!"

Clay's eyes were red.

"I…I'm so sorry Rai…" he whimpered.

Clay's shoulders were twitching in hatred for himself and he clenched his fists so hard that if he wasn't wearing gloves, he would've drew blood. But as if his life depended on it, he did not dare cry.

"Clay…"

Rai looked at Clay in sincerity and placed a hand on his shoulder, ending the tenseness.

"…if you're going to understand one thing in the entire universe that's held together by duct tape…it wasn't your fault. I just…had a nightmare."

"But Rai, you were shouting out and crying hysterically…it must've been a scary nightmare."

Rai closed his open emotions while puffing up his chest and folding his arms. Holding his chin up high and looking away, he had to lie to Clay to not make him worry anymore.

"Hmph. I wasn't scared." he scoffed in a cocky and manly tone.

But once again, Clay worked his magic on Rai; destroying his 'shield' of fake bull-headedness and brought Rai close to his chest and held him once more.

"……_I_ was afraid…"

Hot pain prickled at Raimundo's eyes as he moved closer to Clay, wrapping his arms around his friend. He could not lie to Clay…it was like taking candy from the _Sweet Baby among Us_!

After a moment of great silence, Clay finally spoke up; choking out the words that he was meaning to say for some time.

"I know what that dream was about Rai…that's why I got scared."

Rai looked up in shock.

"Y-You do? What _is_ it about then?" he asked painfully looking away, regretting he ever asked.

"…you were screaming and crying for your mother…this was about your parent's death, wasn't it?" he whispered.

Raimundo started to cry again. It came like a waterfall…and once again he was too weak to stop it…

"…I…I couldn't save her…"

Clay held Rai tighter...gently stroking Rai's hair as he continued to bawl quietly. Rai cried for minutes…which led to hours…he cried till the sun began to rise…

But by that time, the two boys were asleep on Rai's mat, cuddling and embracing each other…holding each other for comfort and warmth.

As the sun's multi-colored rays shot out from the circle-shaped window, Clay began to stir. He opened his eyes, straightened his hat and stood up, looking down on Rai who was not thinking about moving until noon.

Clay couldn't help but smile; Rai was so cute when he slept…peacefully.

His breath was steady and small, his face was streaked with tears, but he was not having any nightmares.

Clay got down to his knees to get a better look at Rai's face. He stared at his closed eye lids and then he moved down to his lips. They were slightly parted…cute and moist…ready to be kissed…

"AAAH! STOP IT!"

Clay hollered, banging his head on the wall and waking Rai up in an instant.

"Clay! What's up? Why are you banging your head against the wall?"

Before Clay could answer, Dojo slithered into the room. He was panting and looked like he had seen the devil.

"G-Guys! Get to the courtyard quick! Jack Spicer got through the wall and brought reinforcements!"

Without a moment to spare, Rai and Clay ran to the courtyard as fast as their legs could carry them.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

As they rushed into the courtyard, Jack Spicer was floating in the air with his army of Jack- bots and the Spiral of Demons around his neck. Rai felt a surge of anger rise through him when he saw Jack wearing what was rightfully his. The medallion swayed in the wind and shined its reflecting light on the rising sun. An evil grin cast over Jack's face as he waved the medallion in front of Rai's face, sensing his jealousy.

"How's this for a wake up call, losers? Jack-bots! ATTACK!"

As the Jack-bots moved closer to the ground, Rai and Clay knew what they had to do. Rai placed a foot on Clay's cupped hands and nodded, signaling that he was ready to fight.

"C'mon, Rai! Give em' all you got!" shouted Clay as he threw his friend up in the air.

Raimundo would take care of all of the Jack-bots in the sky while Clay handled the ones on land.

"WIND!"

Rai flipped in the air and kicked as many of the Jack-bots to pieces as possible, doing it quickly so he could stay airborne longer.

Meanwhile, Clay was smashing the robots to pieces on land, one by one.

"EARTH!"

With only about four movements with his arms, Clay was able to smash about fifteen Jack-bots into each other, making them explode.

As Rai fell from the sky, Clay caught him just in time, not unlike how a groom carries a bride after a wedding. They glanced and smiled at each other for a brief moment, but going back to reality, Rai jumped out of Clay's arms and they both got into battle stances.

"The robot thing's getting a little old, Spicer!" shouted Rai

"Fight your own battles, coward!" added Clay.

"Yeah, be a man!"

Jack smirked and took off Rai's medallion, waving it in front of Rai's face a second time.

"I was just getting to that…I have even more reinforcements!"

Raimundo was in deep thought…what did this have to do with his medallion?

Then he remembered what the wu did…

"Oh no…" Rai began to panic.

"AHAHAHA! The fun is just beginning!" cackled Jack 'evilly'.

"SPIRAL OF DEMONS!"

The wu started to glow and the swirl on the medallion started to spin rapidly and the skull in the center revealed itself. With a blinding burst of light that covered the entire courtyard, Rai and Clay couldn't hear their own screams over Jack's. Suddenly, the two dragons felt something being dragged out of their chest and through their throat! The strange feeling was almost like a fishing hook…taking an invisible substance within them. Even though the two friends couldn't see what was taken from them, they knew that something was indeed missing.

When the light cleared, Clay ran over to Rai, who was curled up into a ball trembling and sweating.

"D-D-D-Did you f-feel that, Clay? What do you think it was?"

Clay's visible eye was wide, his own body shaking a little.

"All I know is that was a feelin' weirder than Granny Lily's ghost!"

But Clay was about to witness a scene scarier than Granny Lily herself!

Both dragons stood before…themselves! And yet…it wasn't them at all…

Before them stood themselves…with extremely dark auras and bright red eyes. The dragons looked in their copy's eyes…and found strangers.

The Evil Raimundo had his arms folded and he gazed at the real Raimundo, sensing his emotions- confusion, fear and a hint of worry. Evil Raimundo smirked, almost bearing fangs and scaring his good half.

Clay and Evil Clay was a different story. They were having a stare-down and apparently, the Evil dragon realized that it wasn't easy to scare the real Dragon of Earth. Clay's expression was clearly stating 'back off'. The Evil Clay glared in his defeat in the stare-down, but tipped his hat back and smirked.

"Geez, partner! You're less fun than Jessie!"

Clay growled and started his threatening.

"Don't go talking 'bout my sister like that, ya rattle snake!"

"Wooo-ee! I never did know that good guys can threaten!" he turned to Evil Rai who laughed with him, leaning against the tree.

"Should I get some dog biscuits?" snorted the Evil Rai.

"How 'bout knuckle sandwiches?" said Evil Clay holding up his fist to his chest.

"That works too." said Evil Rai cracking his knuckles.

Clay and Rai moved closer to each other, back-to-back and on their guards.

"So, you got a plan?" Clay whispered to Rai.

"Yeah. I'll take on Evil Clay, and you verse me."

"Wait…shouldn't we battle ourselves?"

"No. That would only waste more time. If we battle ourselves, there's no clear-cut winner. We may as well play it safe and battle each other."

Clay shrugged and took out the original fist of Tebigong from under his hat.

"If you say so."

That's when they split up. Clay was charging towards the Evil Rai while Rai stood still as Evil Clay started to stare him down.

"Afraid?" he asked, tipping his hat back revealing a menacing red eye.

Rai flinched a little, but got into a battle stance.

"Heh. You wish."

"SWORD OF THE STORM!"

Rai took out the mystical sword and started to spin it like a baton, causing a high pressure storm swirl out from the center. Evil Clay laughed, not moving an inch.

"You're in fur a surprise, buckaroo! SYSMIC KICK! EARTH!"

At once, huge walls of earth began to shoot out towards Rai in all directions, sending him flying into the temple wall.

Meanwhile, Clay was running toward Evil Rai, who stood there waiting for Clay to make the first move.

"FIST OF TEBIGONG!"

Clay slammed his fist into the ground, sending an assault of rock and dirt toward his friend's evil clone. Rai still didn't move as his attack got closer and closer.

"_What's he doin'? He's blinder than Old Bessie's grandpa!"_

As soon as Clay was finished with his mental metaphor, that'swhen Evil Rai acted.

"WIND!"

The dirt and rocks stopped at his force field, and with a single gust of wind, he blew Clay's attack right back at him!

Clay was hit straight in the gut with his own attack. Pounding into the ground, he struggled to get to his feet. Evil Rai stared down at him like a piece of amusing trash.

"Finished already?"

Clay glared and sent a punch flying toward Evil Rai's chest. He dodged easily and sent two strong kicks to Clay's back, getting behind him in less than a second.

"This is just too easy! You're so slow!"

Clay was on his knees again, wiping dirt off his face and glaring at Evil Rai.

"_It's not me who's slow…he's faster than humming bird wings in summertime! How do I beat that?"_

When Rai finally got out of the wall, Evil Clay was standing right in front of him.

"Well go on, make your move."

Rai growled and launched a storm of kicks all over Evil Clay's body, who blocked all of them. Evil Clay was simply playing around with Rai.

"That's right, fight like a man. And DIE like one!"

Evil Clay launched a single, bone shattering kick into Rai's stomach sending him flying to the ground, screaming in agony of his ruined abdominals and tears of pain streaking down his cheeks.

Clay heard Rai's scream and ran out of the battle he was facing.

"RAI MUNDO!"

Evil Rai glared and ran in front of him.

"TYPHOON BOOM! WIND!"

Clay was thrown back by the sudden storm of wind and crashed into the tree. Unable to get up on his feet, Evil Rai walked up to him, Clay looking helplessly up at the evil Dragon of Wind. He smiled mischievously, lurking inside of Clay and tearing up his last shred of courage.

"I know what you want, Clay. You want my love. You want to kiss me, don't you? Don't try to deny it."

"Sh-Shut up!

Clay blushed a deep scarlet and jumped to his feet, throwing two solid punches at Evil Rai, but missed completely. Evil Rai pinned him to the ground with his foot on Clay's chest.

"Though I don't blame you. I am pretty good looking if I do say so myself, but I don't swing that way, dude. And if I really wanted to fuck, I'd do it with Kimiko!"

That did it. Clay exploded in livid fury at he knocked off Evil Rai and punched him straight in the cheek, sending him flying a few feet away! Clay wasn't about to stop either. He threw about ten more, but each one missed. Clay was blinded by his own anger.

Evil Rai wiped blood from the side of his mouth where Clay punched him.

"Asshole! You'll pay for that!"

Evil Rai sent a storm of strong kicks in the same spot and Clay smashed into the tree and landed on his stomach…he wasn't able to move his leg…he was watching Rai fight his evil clone through the grass.

He was crying…shouting for help and trying to get up, but every time he tried to stand, he would always fall. Clay felt so useless, lying in the grass not able to help Rai when he needed him most.

"Raimundo…" he whispered, feeling every single strike of pain that Rai felt when he tried to stand.

Evil Clay couldn't stop laughing at the pathetic scene. If Clay could stand, he would tear his evil half apart!

"Do you honestly believe crying like a baby is gonna help you win this fight…or make your mommy come back?" he jeered viciously.

Clay's eyes widened in fear when Rai stopped crying and stared at Evil Clay going on his hands and knees.

"N-No…don't…" Clay pleaded.

Rai stared silently into Evil Clay's venomous red eyes, which were a frightening contrast to Clay's gentle blue ones. Rai started to cry again when he thought about Clay…

"_Of course! I bet they're looking down on you right now, Rai."_

"_Shh…it's ok…I won't let anyone hurt you…"_

"…_**I** was afraid…"_

D…Does Clay think that too? No! This is EVIL Clay! But…what if he's right? What if Clay really DOES think that? Does he think I'm pathetic? Does he…hate me?

More pitiful tears fell from Rai's burning eyes. Evil Clay kicked him again, sending him to the ground again.

"STOP IT!" screamed Clay, desperately reaching his hand out to Rai.

"Your parents got what they deserved. You'll never have love. NEVER."

Clay closed his eyes and clenched his fists, expecting a scream of pain come from Rai. But he heard nothing. Just gusts of wind…horribly cold winds blowing in all directions. Clay shivered and attempted to stand up, but fell to his knees.

Raimundo was on his feet, summoning a tornado of winds all around him. The tears on his face were long gone and his emerald eyes were flashing with hatred.

"Raimundo…"

Clay was in shock. Raimundo had never before summoned this much power.

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP! DIE!"

Raimundo threw his hands in front of him, commanding the tornado to go toward Evil Clay and Evil Rai. The two clones nodded to each other and Evil Clay took out something from under his hat.

THE REVERSING MIRROR!

Clay's heart stopped. If Raimundo was hit with winds that strong…

"RAIMUNDO!"

Clay ran toward Rai, running across the courtyard…weary but not thinking about giving in. He limped as fast as he could…as Evil Clay slowly raised the revering mirror.

Closer…closer…

"REVERSING MIRROR!"

Evil Clay sent Raimundo's mighty storm spiraling toward him!

Just a little farther…Raimundo…my love…

Raimundo was hit by something on his neck and everything turned black…his limp body on the ground…all he could hear was Clay's voice screaming…powerful blasts of wind…the laughter of the evil copies…the scream abruptly stopping…

Rai's senses came back one by one…he could only hear the light gusts of wind that were left over from his tornado…he could feel something slowly cascade over his fingers…a thick liquid…the smell of it…blood…sight…

Raimundo jumped to consciousness. He saw Clay standing in front of him, his arms open wide…standing like a wall.

"Clay!"

Raimundo was hit by a wave of joy to see Clay, but that was quickly replaced by so much shock.

Clay was there, but his leg was bleeding so much that it reached Raimundo's fingertips.

"CLAY!" he shouted, starting to cry a third time. Clay hid his face under his hat and he fell to one knee. Clay's leg wasn't the only thing bleeding. He was also bleeding a little from his mouth, his arm and his cheek, deeply cut…severed…

"…Raimundo…you're…okay…"

Clay's voice was silent and weak…it took Raimundo mere seconds to figure out what happened…Clay had protected him from getting hit by the tornado…he sacrificed himself so Rai wouldn't get hurt…

"Clay…"

Rai couldn't believe his stupidity. Launching a tornado and having no idea it could get reversed…and he didn't even pay for his mistake!

Rai flung his arms around Clay's shoulders and the Evil copies approached. Rai stood up, and shielded Clay, a single tear rolling down his face while he glared.

"If you touch him once, I swear I'll-"

But Rai didn't have the power to back his words up. The evil copies threw them down and pinned them to the ground.

"You were saying?"

Rai glanced at Clay. Clay was looking in his direction, reaching his hand out for Rai. Rai's angry look was swept away and he grabbed Clay's hand.

"It's ok, Rai…we'll beat em'."

"Save the bunny fluff for your graves!" shot Evil Rai as he threw his hand and cried:

"Wi-AH!"

Evil Rai had collapsed onto the ground, a burn on his back.

"What in tarnation- WHOA!"

Evil Clay was the second to fall, stuck down by the force of water.

Burns…water…FIRE AND WATER!

Rai jumped up and almost died of relief, crying tears of joy.

Omi and Kimiko were in their battle stances, in front of the large Dojo.

"Hey guys! Miss us?"

Clay got to his feet as well, tipping his hat back and smiling as widely as Rai.

"Well I'll be a durn monkey's uncle!"

Omi stepped forward.

"Enough chat chit! We have enemies to defeat."

"But how'd you guys know?"

"Dojo explained everything to us when we were flying here. It's a good thing he came and got us too, or you guys would've been toast!" said Kimiko.

Evil Rai recovered quickly from the burn on his back and charged.

"When I get my hands on you!" he shouted while running towards them.

"This one is mine!" exclaimed Omi, who was about to jump into battle, but Clay grabbed him by the collar.

"Slow down there, partner. You'll need this."

Clay took out the Orb of Tornami from under his hat and gave it to Omi.

"How many wu do you really have under that hat?" asked Rai.

"ORB OF TORNAMI!" cried Omi as he launched a wave of water out of the Orb of Tornami. Evil Rai was blown back once again.

Now it was Evil's Clay's turn to step up. Abandoning his Reversing Mirror, he ran toward Kimiko.

"Looks like I'm up."

Kimiko flipped in the air, a flame kicking up at her ankles.

"JUDELLET FLIP! FIRE!"

Fire engulfed the Evil Clay and sent him next to the Evil Rai, but they were far from being defeated. They stood up and prepared for another battle.

"You know what this means, my friends!" said Omi, getting the word across.

"Yeah! Let's blast em' out of China!" shouted Rai.

At once, the four Xiaolin Warriors got into their positions of their ultimate technique.

"DRAGON X-CUME FORMATION!"

As Kimiko and Omi spun rapidly, Clay and Rai were running with them towards their evil copies…side by side…

The Dragons of Water and Fire spun like a wheel, knocking Evil Clay and Evil Rai down like bowling pins. Once they were on the ground, they were defeated and unconscious.

"That's enough! Return my evil servants!" said Jack Spicer, bringing the two copies back into the Spiral of Demons.

"Jack Spicer! Prepare to be humiliated!" said Omi, thrusting his finger at Jack.

"Sorry, Omi! Not this time. I'll catch you losers later. I've seen enough wannabes for one day."

And with that, Jack flew off, leaving the four warriors in the courtyard to await the rest of the afternoon.


	8. Chapter 8

Dedicated to these AWSOME people: Nikana, SaphireStars, Soraetowaru, xSwtLilAngel666x, Negitive Zero, Flapdoodle-Rhadamante, and Amoral Butterfly

Chapter 8

"HAHA! YES! We were victorious! In your head, Jack Spicer!" shouted Omi.

"I think you mean 'in your face'." corrected Raimundo.

"That too!"

Kimiko gasped and pointed at Clay's ankle.

"Oh my gawd Clay! You're bleeding!"

Rai completely forgot! WHAT AN IDIOT! He ran toward Clay and helped him up, swinging Clay's arm around Rai's shoulders so he could lean on him.

"Omi! Go ask Master Fung for some bandages." commanded Rai. Omi obeyed, his face pale.

"Kimiko, can you go get some water, a towel and some basil?"

Kimiko nodded and was back in a matter of seconds with the needed materials. Omi and Master Fung followed her, with bandages. Master Fung asked Clay to take off his boot and roll up his pant leg to his knee.

Clay did as he was told and followed his master's instructions. Master Fung inspected the wound and got up a few moments later.

"You'll be fine. Just wash the wound out, apply to it with herbs and bandage it well. Raimundo?"

"Yes sir."

Raimundo wet the towel in the lukewarm water and dabbed it to Clay's wound as gently as possible. Rai heard a silent hiss come from the Dragon of Earth.

"I-I'm sorry!" stammered Rai. He looked at Clay, who for once was revealing both eyes…beautiful, affectionate eyes…

"You don't need to apologize. I'll do it myself." said Clay reaching for the towel.

He started to soak up the blood; the wash cloth was dyed red in a mere matter of seconds. The deep cut was then applied with basil and bandaged tightly.

Rai clenched his fists and growled. The wound was so deep…so dark with so much blood… those bastards would pay for what they did to Clay!

Clay noticed Rai and placed a huge, gentle hand on Rai's shoulder and smiled.

"It's ok. I'm fine." he said in a reassuring voice, sprinkled with ginger.

"Come, Clay. I think you should sleep. The rest of you have the day off." said Master Fung. Clay limped toward Master Fung obediently and took a final glance at Rai before heading to his room.

The rest of the day came and went. Kimiko happily returned to her room, playing some Goo Zombies 3. And Omi on the other hand, was doing what he usually did on days off: extra training.

Raimundo however, was on the roof watching the sunset. Hugging his knees close to his chest, he was lost in thought.

"Was Evil Clay right? Am I just weighing Clay down with all of my emotions?"

He was waiting for the stars to twinkle in the sky, because he was certain that's when Clay would wake.

Rai glanced in Clay's circle-shaped window and looked at Clay's sleeping figure…

Funny, Rai had never seen Clay asleep before. Of course, he saw him taking an occasional nap under the tree in the courtyard, but that was different. Clay was on his mat, sound asleep with absolutely no disturbances.

It made Rai's pride come back to be watching Clay as he slept, and not the other way around as it usually was.

Rai's eyes did not move from that spot for hours…until the stars started to appear in the sky. As the sky darkened and the first little rays of light started to appear, Rai put his hands in the back of his head and lay down on the roof…he wasn't keeping track of the time, or the fact that Clay had left his bed when Venus was clear in the sky.

"Hey, partner! Watcha' doin' up there?" called Clay, tipping his hat back again.

Rai's senses shot upward and he smiled warmly at Clay, jumping down from the roof and gave him a hug, careful not to knock him off his feet because of his injury. Clay placed his arms around Rai's shoulders.

"How're you feeling?"

"Fine actually! Turns out that sleep's the cure for all illness. What about you?"

"Hey, I wasn't the one heavily bleeding back there!"

But in truth, there WAS something bothering Rai. He winced as he replayed Evil Clay's words in his head.

"_Do you honestly believe crying like a baby is gonna help you win this fight…or make your mommy come back?"_

"_Your parents got what they deserved. You'll never have love. NEVER."_

Rai felt a churning of self hatred stir in his chest, and as if Clay had a sixth sense, he released Rai and looked into his emerald eyes, full of hidden angst.

"What's wrong, Rai?"

Raimundo just hung his head, ashamed to answer. Instead, he headed the conversation in a different direction.

"D-Did the evil me say anything to you?"

Clay was surprised, but then he raised a cheek bone in discomfort looking away and remembering the hurtful words of the fake Dragon of Wind.

"Well…he said that …um…er…"

Suddenly, Clay's cheeks began to burn.

"_I can't tell Rai! That's suicide!"_

Rai raised an eyebrow and gave a puzzled stare at his flustered friend.

"What's wrong, Clay?"

"_No…can't tell Rai…got to make something up…no…I can't lie to him…but…he's gonna hate me! Well…maybe not…I don't know! Sigh…may as well tell him while you've got a chance you sissy…"_

Clay was pushing his two index fingers against each other, his heart acting like a rabid, wild animal in a cage as he blushed an even deeper crimson.

"O-Ok…but you promise not to hate me? Or tell Kimiko?"

"Clay, why in the name of nacho cheese would I do that!"

"Cause…I don't think it's gonna be what you expect…so…be prepared…"

"Sure!" Rai replied cheerfully.

"I promise I won't tell anyone, or hate you."

"Ok…well…the evil you was just taunting me about my…er…crush on you! I have a crush on you, Rai! I love you!" he blurted out, stammering in every syllable and squeezing his eyes shut and holding his breath.

Rai had to have a couple of moments to take in the words.

He…he doesn't hate me? He…LOVES me!

Raimundo smiled gleefully and placed a small kiss on Clay's cheek. Clay's eyes shot open, his usually emotionless face was a rainbow of several: shock, confusion, happiness bashfulness and love. He moved his hand slowly toward the spot where Rai kissed him.

"R…R…Rai?" he whispered, while Rai merely smiled cutely and put his hands behind his back.

"That's great to know…cause…I like you too! You know the weird thought I had the day before yesterday?" asked Rai, who was the new bearer of the torch of index finger fiddling and blushing.

"Well…I thought…that you were sexy!"

Clay could not believe his ears. His eyebrows reached the sky while his mouth touched the ground.

"_Me? Sexy? If this is a dream…don't wake me up…"_

Clay NOW felt like running around in circles, jumping up and down and shouting for joy, but he wasn't stupid enough to spoil a romantic moment…his FIRST romantic moment…

"So…you have feelings for me too?" Clay asked in astonishment.

"Yeah. Ever since the…you know…the cookie dough incident…then it was kinda like a snowball effect."

"Wow…I can't believe neither of us had the courage to tell each other." said Clay.

"Heh, yeah! I guess that makes us both wimps." laughed Rai, scratching the back of his neck. Clay laughed with him, and when they stopped, all they could do is gaze into each other's eyes.

Clay was about to bend down and kiss Rai, but Rai put his fingers on his lips, stopping him. Rai was in his saddened mode again.

"Wait…"

Clay moved back, wondering why Rai didn't let him kiss him.

"What's the matter, Rai?"

Rai looked down in shame and hunched his shoulders while putting his hands in his pocket.

"I…I need to ask you something…" whispered Rai solemnly, sitting down on the stone slab that acted like a park bench under the tree in the courtyard.

"Yeah?" Clay asked, sitting down next to his lover.

"…promise to tell the truth no matter what?"

"I promise." said Clay in a strong, confirming voice.

Rai took a deep breath before continuing.

"…was the evil you right about what he said? Was he telling the truth?"

Clay gasped a little and looked down at Rai in sympathy. He had forgotten what exactly the evil him said, but he knew it was bad.

"Telling the truth about what, Rai? What did he say?"

Rai felt a huge lump in his throat grow and grow by the second, as the memorized words came out of his mouth.

"H-He said that crying like a baby wouldn't help me win the fight…or bring my mother back…he also said that my parents got what they deserved."

Clay was stricken by Raimundo's words. Clay kept a sympathetic look while hiding anger that was thrashing around inside and screaming ways of how to kill his evil half.

He could see Rai wincing as he tried to continue…but he couldn't choke out the words from the ball in his throat that was painfully suffocating him.

"Raimundo…I-"

"There's more." said Rai darkly, overcoming his emotions. But his pitiful whimpering voice soon returned when he continued.

"He said that I don't deserve love. Is he right? Am I too weak?"

Rai was practically on his hands and knees, crying his eyes out and desperate for an answer.

That's when clay broke down. Tears were streaming down his face when one side of him wanted to strangle Rai and punch him countless times until he could realize the truth and the other part was telling him to…

"Rai…oh, Rai!"

Clay got down to his knees and moved so close to Rai's lips that he felt Rai's choppy breathing against his chin. Moving his neck down to aim for his destination, Rai already knew what he wanted. Putting his hand in the back of Clay's head, Rai gingerly pulled him closer so their lips would meet. Both of them were still shedding tears, but these were of joy. Their blissful kiss was the most wonderful thing that has happened to either of them. Clay slowly moved the tip of his tongue into Rai's to make sure that Rai wanted to, but the Dragon of Wind didn't protest, allowing Clay to enter. When Clay slid the rest of his tongue in Rai's mouth, he heard a small whimper followed by Rai's tongue in HIS mouth. He could feel Rai exploring the bottom of his jaw line. Both dragons couldn't believe how sweet each other's mouths were. They were like gateways of pleasure that the two boys did not believe existed.

It was as if both of them found heaven…

Finally, they broke off gasping for air. Clay looked at Rai and lovingly kissed away his final tear. The purpose of Rai's tear was saying thank you to his lover; Clay was being so gentle with him…almost treating him as if he was a priceless, thin glass vase.

"…that was my first kiss you know…I'm really happy it was with you…"

"Yeah. Me too, Clay."

Rai hugged him again as Clay held Rai's head to his chest, gently stroking his hair and whispering in his ear.

"Don't worry Rai. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again…"


	9. Chapter 9

Dedicated to these AWSOME people: The Psychologist (hehe thx!), Bunny Raven Rulez, Nikana, SaphireStars, Soraetowaru, xSwtLilAngel666x, Negitive Zero, Flapdoodle-Rhadamante, and Amoral Butterfly

SOOOOO SORRY I HAVEN'T BEEN UPDATING! WRITER'S BLOCK SUX!

Chapter 9

That night, Clay was on his mat thinking…about Rai and their kiss…

He still couldn't believe that Rai had the same feelings! They both shared the painful fear of rejection.

Clay blushed and smiled when he remembered the cute little kiss that Rai gave him on his left cheek. Waving his hand in front of it, he silently declared that he would never wash that cheek again.

Suddenly, he heard the door creak open. Clay shot up when he heard the sound and he found Rai poking his head through the crack and grabbing the door handle tightly. Only Rai's head (cheeks burning hot) and his hand were visible.

"_He's just being shy…" thought Clay with a laugh._

"You waitin' for an engraved invitation, partner?" he jeered.

Rai shook his head, revealing the rest of his body and entered the room. He was scratching his neck and blushing again.

"Um…Clay?"

"Yeah?"

"…can I sleep with you? All night?"

Clay raised an eyebrow. Why was Rai being so shy? They slept together a lot lately…hell! They just made-out!

"Sure." said Clay cheerfully, moving to the side slightly and pulling back the covers.

Rai smiled and got under them, moving closer to Clay and nudging his head in his neck. Rai was still blushing, making Clay laugh out loud.

"How come you're still blushing, Rai? We sleep together a lot!"

Rai looked away.

"Yeah I know…but…this time it's cause…uh…"

"Because what, Rai?"

"…I'm scared…" he said closing his eyes and tensing his bones.

"_I'M SCARED! IS THAT ALL I CAN SAY! JEEZ, AFTER THAT LAST NIGHTMARE I HAD, I MIGHT JUMP OFF A BRIDGE!"_

Clay didn't know what to say at first. Now he knew why Rai was blushing…

"Rai, that's nothin' to be ashamed of…that must've been one hell of a nightmare."

Rai nodded silently and hugged Clay tighter. He didn't need his teddy bear now that he had Clay.

"…it's ok to be afraid…" Clay whispered in Rai's ear, kissing him tenderly down his neck. Rai's chest was flooded with relief as he kissed Clay back, their lips joining and their tongues enjoying themselves in different mouths. Clay pressed closer…going deeper. Rai gasped slightly but quickly adjusted to it, doing the same to Clay who was more than willing to let him return the favor. Clay leaned more to the left so he would lie slightly on top of Rai, while still kissing him. Rai put his hand on the back of Clay's head and pulled him closer…begging for more.

Clay gave his lover what he wanted and moved completely on top of Rai, removing his white and green/orange shirts while gently sliding them off of Rai's shoulders and threw them across the room.

Clay glanced at Rai, who was shaking lividly, and his emerald eyes were tinted with fear and the faintest signs of tears.

Clay's expression softened and he gently kissed away the small, salty tears that fell from Rai's eyes.

"Are you sure about this?" Clay whispered, a blast of fire inside his chest was begging for Rai to say yes. Just looking at Rai made the fire hidden inside him for so long grow by the second. His small, thin body…the tanned skin that was exposed to Clay's almost hungry blue eyes. He wanted it…so badly…

Rai couldn't answer Clay's question, all he could do was close his eyes and look away. In truth, he DID want to do it with Clay…but…what would it be like? Would it hurt?

In the black oblivion of silence, Rai looked up with wet eyes, and nodded.

Clay smiled widely in pure delight as he took off his own shirt, hat, scarf and gloves, eager to claim Rai…to taste him…

Clay gingerly slid his hand on the back of Rai's head and kissed him passionately as Rai kissed back, holding him in a tight embrace. Their tongues once again met and visited different mouths. Rai groaned and pulled in closer, becoming more comfortable in Clay's mouth and forgetting his worries about sex in a blissful few minutes kissing his lover. Clay's hair brushed over Rai's forehead and to Rai's joy, two very large arms embraced him back. The two friends broke off for a moment, gasping for air. Rai looked at his friend with a look of relief and thankfulness as he rested his head on Clay's shoulder, pulling him closer.

"…Clay…promise…not to…hurt me?" whispered Rai in a hopeful voice, his eyes fearful. Clay set him down and didn't even look the brunette in the eye…all he could look at was Rai's chest…not even answering him. Clay did not listen. His own hormones clouded his hearing…and himself. Clay just moved downward, stroking Rai's hip and staring at where his friend's groin was supposed to be, which he planned to expose.

"C-Clay?" Rai's lip quivered and he was shaking in fear, because Clay didn't answer his question…a very important question that needed to be verified. Rai's eyes welled up with tears again when he saw that Clay wasn't even looking at him…he was just staring at Rai's body with half-closed eyes that were clouded by lust and desire…they were not the blue eyes that would always hold kindness…affection…purity…all he wanted right now was Rai's body…not his heart.

Tears were streaming down Rai's cheeks and his heart raced as he felt a warm, large hand slowly unbutton and unzip his khakis…slowly sliding them down to his knees…the same hand tugging at his boxers…

"NO!"

Rai let his instincts take over as he threw Clay off of him with a strong gust of wind that slammed him into the wall. That's when Clay snapped back into reality. Clay was holding his head in pain.

"W-What in tarnation-"

Clay stopped talking when he looked at his friend, stricken by the look that Rai gave him. His emerald eyes were sparkling with fear while he was slowly backing away, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry!" Rai hollered as he pulled his pants back up and bolted out of the door, blinded by his own tears.

"Raimundo! RAIMUNDO!" Clay shouted, looking exactly the same as he did at the end of the cookie dough incident- his desperate eyes, his arm reaching out to Rai, knowing that he would never catch him, no matter how much he wanted to.

Clay put his shirt back on and dashed out of the room, remembering that Rai turned left. Running as fast as he could, he charged down the hallway, anxious to catch Rai and set things straight again…

While he was running, tracking down Rai and figuring out which hallway he must've taken, the other half of Clay's brain was playing back the past, trying to find out why Rai was crying.

All he could remember was Rai allowing him to take off his shirt…and after that…was a blur…all he could remember was pleasure…_pure lust_…

Clay stopped abruptly in his tracks, panting like crazy, but at the same time, afraid of himself. Staring at his gloved hands, his oceanic eyes were painted with confusion and the surprise.

"What…what did I do to him?"

Clay winced and continued looking for Rai. If Rai didn't tell him what he did…if…he…didn't trust Clay anymore…

That thought tore him apart. Clay broke down into small sobs, still running, still looking for his love.

"Raimundo…" he hiccupped, his shoulders twitching and leaning against a pillar, letting his tears fall.

"What did I do?"

He would never forgive himself if he hurt Rai. He curled up into a ball and sobbed into his knees…hoping…pleading that he didn't hurt Rai…

"CLAY!"

Before Clay even had a chance to turn around, two thin and long arms wrapped around Clay and Clay's shoulder was quickly wet with tears as Rai bawled.

"Rai…my love…"

Clay turned his body around and allowed Rai to cry in his chest as he wrapped his arms around the smaller boy.

"Clay, I'm so sorry!"

Clay almost angrily thrusted Rai forward so he could look him in the eye. Rai's green eyes were again wet with tears, begging for forgiveness.

"What are you talking about! Why are YOU sorry? What did I do to you!"

Hot, livid tears poured from Clay's eyes as he saw Rai shut his eyes and look away.

"You…you tried to pull my pants and my boxers down…and…I got scared…" choked Rai, wanting to hug Clay again so badly, but his friend backed away…horrified and cupping two hands over his mouth and crying harder leaving Rai on his knees.

How…how could he? Clay could not believe himself…his own greed…his own lust had consumed him…AND HE ALMOST RAPED RAI!

"DAMNIT! NO!" Clay screamed, yelling wordlessly and punching the wall with all his might, brick crumbling to the ground and dust swirling around in the hall.

Rai backed away slowly. He was almost frozen with shock. His eyes widened and he started to sweat. His worst fear had been realized- Clay was taking his anger out on physical objects…Clay…shattered…his self control was crumbling like the wall he had demolished. Rai's heart raced as Clay charged into another wall, causing yet more destruction and chaos…drawing blood from his arm…re-opening the wound in his ankle.

Rai couldn't take it…he couldn't see his friend like this…it would destroy both of them…

"CLAY! STOP IT!"

Before Clay could throw another punch, Rai pounced on top of him and forced him to the ground, clamping onto his friend…refusing to let go.

"Stop Clay…please…you'll destroy the temple…" begged Rai as he wept in the chest of his lover.

At once, Clay was brought back to Earth by Rai's words…

"_What am I doing! I just destroyed about four walls in the hallway…I'll get into so much trouble…and Rai…poor Rai…he's never seen me like this…in fact…neither have I…"_

Clay's expression softened and he gently placed his hand at the bottom of Rai's chin and led it up so Rai could look at him. Clay wiped away Rai's tears with his gloved thumb and embraced him again.

"I'm sorry Rai…for everything…this has never happened to me before…" he choked out, sobbing on Rai's shoulder…shaking in crystal fear of himself…

Rai knew why Clay snapped; he was just beginning to show his emotions to Rai, which led to him opening up…and letting his emotions flow freely…now that he loved someone. Rai understood why Clay wasn't used to dealing with his own feelings- he had seen Clay's father, being a little hard on him and not allowing him to show his feelings, forcing him to push them down and swallow them…hiding them from his father so he wouldn't let him down…so he wouldn't think he was weak…

Rai brought Clay closer, allowing him to cry…stroking his straw hair lovingly and placing light, angelic kisses on his head.

"It's ok Clay…cry as much as you want…"

You're gonna have to get used to dealing with emotions soon…because…you can't hide forever…


	10. Chapter 10

Yay for my reviewers- Bunny Raven Rulz, The Psychologist, Saphire Stars, Soraetowaru, xSwtLilAngel666x, Negitive Zero, Flapdoodle-Rhadamante and Amoral Butterfly…oh and sorry you don't like it Raimundosbabygurli…but I warned you it contained fluff, homosexuality and it was rated M so I don't know why you would waste your time. I guess that's just how you are. Ah well! On with the fic!

Chapter 10

_Clay was lying on the ground, growling and placing a hand on his throbbing arm. When he opened his eyes, they stared in wonder at the unfamiliar surroundings. Nearly stunned he pushed himself up from the ground and stood. A gust of wind blew, kicking up little cyclones of sand and watched them slowly disintegrate. Clay brought an arm up to protect his eyes, but they remained forward set on the endless ebony desert, staring at the setting sun of shining silver, releasing fading pastels of grey._

_Clay walked over to one of the black cactuses. To his horror, blood came streaming out of the side when he slashed it with a pocket knife._

_Then, looking to the colorless horizon he realized where he was. A darkened, messed up version of the Texan desert…his home._

_He could hear the sable Earth speak in a silent voice…an ominous whisper. Almost warning him that something was terribly wrong._

"_Come back home, eh boy?" asked a deep gruff voice._

_Clay whirled around and saw the tall figure of his father, towering over his son despite Clay's superior height to a normal kid his age. Most of his father's face was covered in a big brown mustache and his own ten-gallon hat looked more like a twenty gallon._

"_D-Daddy?" Clay breathed in disbelief._

"_Come back to Texas with your tail between your legs after cryin' in front of your boyfriend."_

_Clay was flustered when he mentioned the word 'boyfriend'. Clay's father spit at his ankles, making him wince in shame._

"_You're never gonna become a man if you can't control your emotions, Clay!"_

_Clay clenched his fists and ground his teeth flat, but he didn't dare growl._

_As much as he hated to admit it, his father was right. Clay's worst fear had finally bared its fangs- losing control…of everything. His emotions, himself, his own selfish desire for Rai's body…_

_Clay started to get a large lump in his throat and his eyes began to turn red when he thought about Rai…but he'd rather die than cry in front of his father, prove that he was weak a second time, lose control again._

_Clay remembered the last time, the only time, that he cried in front of him._

_He was but a boy of eight, who foolishly wanted to herd the cattle by himself to prove he was on his way to becoming a man…to make his father proud._

_He tipped his hat back, prepared his rope and mounted his horse. He scanned the herd that was in the fenced field, currently eating some grass. He reminded himself that to get the cattle moving, you had to make one of the bulls move first. They had about five bulls, but Clay decided to start with the smallest one first, because he had never handled bulls before and he wanted to start off slowly so he could get the hang of it._

_He grabbed his rope, made a lasso and threw it forward, praying that it would wrap around one of its horns._

_And he succeeded! _

_Clay shouted for joy and gave the rope a small tug. At first, the bull didn't respond. But when Clay tugged harder, it shot two glaring, red eyes at Clay, full of anger._

"_Uh-oh…"_

_The bull started to turn around and kick its heels in the dirt. The bull was breathing heavily, its eyes fixed on Clay. It was ready to charge._

"_Definitely not good!"_

_Clay kicked his horse in the side to make a daring escape, but he soon regretted his decision when the bull came charging after them, with a flaming rage. Clay kept ordering his horse to go faster, but no matter how fast they went, the tip of the bull's horn was always touching the horse's tail. The field was a circle shape, so that's the path they had to run: a circle. They had to go around in circles _

_Clay didn't think this bull was ever going to give up, but then he remembered his father's words: if a bull is angry enough, it will run itself to death. Clay winced. He didn't want to kill the poor creature, yet he didn't want to get killed himself either!_

_When the bull realized that all they were doing was running around in a circle, it changed direction, making it go right in front of Clay's horse! _

_The horse stood on two feet and knocked its rider off, sending Clay flying into the ground. The horse made a fast getaway, leaving Clay on the ground…helpless, to face the wrath of the bull._

_It fixed its eyes on Clay, grunting and kicking its huffs again. Glaring at him, staring the unaided boy down and burning its way deep inside of his fearful blue eyes._

_Taking steps back, it was preparing to charge. Clay gulped and remained on the ground, for he knew that it was pointless to run, when it could catch up with a horse._

_And without a second's deliberation, the bull began to charge._

_Fear and hopelessness ate away at Clay's heart and all he could do was scream. Scream let his tears fall, for he knew that after this, he would either be dead or barely alive._

_Suddenly, the beating of the hooves started to turn away from him and the bull shrieked in anger from a distance._

_Clay opened his eyes and they immediately widened in disbelief. About two feet away from him, the bull was roped by his father, who was pulling with all his might to subdue the creature._

"_Daddy!"_

_Clay's father struggled with the rope and the jumping bull. But when it was worn out, it was finally subdued and brought back with the rest of the herd._

_Clay remained on the ground in deep thought. If his father wasn't there to save him…if the bull still kept charging…_

_Clay started to cry again, trying not to think of the horrible possibilities, but he couldn't help it. He hugged his knees and cried there, until his father came by._

"_Boy? Why did you go and do something like that?"_

_Clay looked up and stared weakly into the hard eyes of his father. His bottom lip quivered and he was shaking all throughout his body._

"_I…I just wanted to prove myself."_

_Clay didn't dare look up, and prepared for the worst as he curled himself up into a ball. But surprisingly, his father's voice was not raised._

"_Proving yourself isn't trying to accomplish a task that you know you can't do, but to have the right balance and control to work your way up. Maybe someday you can rope bulls, but not now. Remember that Clay. Control is the key. Use it. And don't fail me."_

_Suddenly, he could see his father fading into a darkness that appeared out of nowhere!_

"_Don't fail me…"_

_Those words kept repeating in Clay's mind but he ran to where his father was going._

"_Daddy! Where are you going!" _

_Clay tried desperately to catch up, but just as he reached out his hand, he stumbled to the ground and found nothing. Just the sand of the desert and his father's final words to him echoing in the dark abyss._

"_You let me down, boy."_

Clay woke with a start, sweat pouring out of his temples and he found his cheeks wet and tearstained. After he wiped his eyes, he noticed that he was in his room, shirt-less and his arm and ankle were heavily bandaged.

"Ah, Clay. You have awakened."

Clay took a fleeting look over his shoulder and saw Master Fung standing in the doorway. Clay scrambled to his feet and bowed.

"Master, I'm terribly sorry about the walls. I was-"

"Please." Master Fung interrupted.

"I know what happened. You can help Raimundo with the repairs if you are able to."

Clay almost jumped when he mentioned Rai.

"W-Where's Rai? Is he ok? I didn't hurt him, did I?"

"He is just fine, Clay. In fact, he started the repairs two hours ago."

Clay looked at the clock across the hall.

"_11:32. Amazing! Rai up before noon!"_

Clay tipped his hat back and smiled.

"I'm gonna go help Rai with the repairs."

Bowing to Master Fung again, Clay limped down the hallways to get to the place where he went on a rampage. Clay thought back to his dream again. He HAD broken his vow…let his father down…lost control and almost destroyed the temple…and…what if he hurt Rai?

Clay squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to hold the tears in, to rid his mind of the last horrifying image. But he was saved from his own imagination by the most beautiful voice he had ever heard.

"Hi Clay!"

Rai appeared from behind the wall and kissed Clay quickly. He was flooded with relief to see that Rai was ok.

"C'mon! I finished the first wall while you were sleeping. Sure you're up for it?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a sec. You can go. I'll catch up." said Clay, limping down the hall again.

"You sure about that? You look pretty beat up."

Rai gave him an innocently sympathetic look while Clay turned away sadly.

Why should Rai still care? Isn't he afraid of me?

"What's wrong, Clay?"

Clay looked up at Rai again and said the words he had been meaning to say for quite some time.

"Rai…I'm sorry…"

Rai arched a brow. "For what? For crying? Everyone cries, Clay. I mean, screw what your Dad said, its pretty natural-"

"No. Not that, Rai." Clay cut him off.

"I'm talking about before that…when I was…was…um…"

Now Rai understood. He went up to Clay and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Clay, that wasn't your fault. I wanted to do it too…but…I just got scared. You weren't going too fast. That's what I wanted, Clay. Honest."

Clay looked into Rai's sincere eyes in astonishment. He…he wanted to do it too?

Clay captured his lover into another kiss, a passionate, long one this time. To say that he thanked Rai for accepting his apology.

But suddenly, they broke off once they heard a noise coming from down the hall. Both of their hearts raced. Did anyone see them?

It was dojo. Just slithering down the hall and minding his own business.

"Hi kids. Did you finish the walls yet?"

Rai and Clay looked at each other uneasily and stared down at Dojo.

"Um…Dojo? You didn't see anything, did you?" whispered Rai.

Dojo's eyebrow arched.

"What are you talking abou-WHOA!"

Dojo started to twitch and roll around on the ground and he jumped slightly.

"Heads up, guys! A new Sheng Gong Wu just activated!"

Kimiko and Omi came running in as if on cue. Kimiko was already dressed for the occasion with a pink tank top and blue jeans, with her brown hair down. Omi was just excited that there was a new Wu active. Both warriors huddled next to Clay and Rai as Dojo opened the scroll. The dragon in the center swirled around and vanished, and when he disappeared, the black stick figure was holding a circle shaped object. Then the stick figure looked inside the circle and it showed another stick figure walking around inside.

"It's called the Seer's Orb. Whoever possesses this Wu has the ability to see what other people are doing even when they're thousands of miles away."

"So it's almost like a crystal ball…only it's a Sheng Gong Wu." said Kimiko.

"Exactly."

Dojo went to his huge form and they soared into the sky. Flying through the parting clouds, Dojo was heading southeast.

"_This is my chance to get my medallion back. I WON'T screw this up!" _thought Rai confidently.

Soon they were flying over the ocean. Dojo's shadow was a thin, black line that could be seen just barely on the sapphire sea. The sun's rays of light made it silvery, almost like a veil. Rai looked over at Clay, who was sitting in front of him. The ocean reminded him of Clay's eyes.

"Here we are, guys." said Dojo, curling his tail and heading down to an island. When they landed, all they saw was a bleak shore and a small jungle in the center of it. Dojo returned to regular size and wrapped his body around Clay's hat. They went straight into the jungle and headed in the same direction until they were in the middle of the jungle, not knowing where they were.

"Any idea where we're going, Dojo?" asked Rai.

"I can't tell which direction it is! This is such a small island and it's very close!"

"I guess this means we'll have to split up." said Kimiko.

"Indeed. We will put a blanket on the Earth so Jack Spicer doesn't steal the Sheng Gong Wu!"

"Um, I think you mean 'cover more ground', partner."

Clay headed north, while Kimiko took south, Rai headed east and Omi went west.

Clay pushed his way through the bushes and twigs that scratched at his bandages. He had to tie them back on at one point. Dry blood was caked on his arm, but the center was still open. He continued to search the tropical jungle for the wu, but all he could see was dirt, trees, leaves and fruit. It seemed like he was out there for hours. The sun was further to the west, meaning that it would be sunset soon. When the orange shards of light beamed through the leaves, Clay decided to take a rest. Limping for hours to find nothing and wandering nowhere seemed pointless; sometimes he had to remind himself why he was out here and why he was walking around aimlessly. He didn't see any of the other dragons anywhere, or any signs that they were at a certain place. But he just knew that they were somewhere on the island, probably feeling the same way he was. Clay tipped his hat forward and sighed. He wasn't going to find a thing.

Suddenly, Clay jumped back into consciousness again when he heard the sound of propellers and an infamous evil cackle.

"Well, well, well! Only one loser this time? Where're your little friends, Clay?" smirked Jack Spicer, with his Jack-bots hovering overhead.

"I…I don't know." he said, still keeping his head up and getting into a fighting stance.

"But I won't need any help to defeat a snake like you!"

"Make that two snakes!" said a voice from behind Jack's back.

Clay looked up and saw another Jack Spicer, his clone they met in the Shard of Lightning episode.

"Would you like to do the honors, Jack?" asked Jack referring to the clone.

"Sure, Jack. JACK-BOTS! ATTACK!"

About six of seven Jack-bots went for Clay at once. Clay let one intense blue eye show from his hat and prepared for his attack while staring his metallic opponents down. Clay held his foot and slammed it into the ground.

Raimundo was still searching under several leaves when he heard a voice in the distance.

"SYSMIC KICK! EARTH!"

"Clay!" Raimundo raced to the direction where he heard his friend's voice, hoping he would get there in time so he wouldn't miss another Showdown.

Instantly, walls of earth shot up from the ground and pierced the Jack-bots, sending them flying to pieces. That attack left an effect as the ground continued to shake after the attack was completed. Birds flew out of their trees and animals went nuts, trying to find a place to hide.

Clay continued to destroy Jack's robotic army with an assortment of Tai-Chi techniques and added in a little excessive force so the Jack-bots were turned to scraps. But still, more and more kept coming!

Clay went down onto one knee, panting and sweating his brains out. "How do I fight an infinite army of robots!" he said, clenching his fists in frustration.

"With me! TYPHOON BOOM! WIND!"

Clay took a fleeting look over his shoulder and saw Raimundo, his hands clapped and gusts of wind flying out.

"Raimundo!" Clay cried gleefully, thankful that he had some help. Raimundo winked at him and ran over to his friend.

"You ok? Your wounds didn't re-open, did they?"

"No, thankfully."

"Throw me up in the air again. Remember when we did that last time? It was a good plan!"

Clay smiled and cupped his hands so Rai could put his foot on it.

"Alright…GO!" Clay shouted, throwing the Dragon of Wind up in the sky to kick the airborne Jack-bots to pieces.

The Jack-bots that flew down to the ground and raced toward Clay. Clay got into a stance again.

"_This is it…we're gonna finish this."_

"EARTH!"

"WIND!"

The two warriors fought and fought, sending each bot to the scrap pile one by one. Using the power of their elements and their skills as Dragons, they continued the feud. Raimundo stayed airborne for quite sometime, trying desperately to stay in the air so he could defeat as many Jack-bots as possible. Kicking a Jack-bot into another Jack-bot, they exploded with a huge crashing noise. As they fell down to Earth, Raimundo could see Jack Spicer's face through the smoke. He was panicking, biting his nails and staring wide eyed at him and Clay, seeing his army get defeated so mercilessly was more than he could bear. The other Jack however was just staring blankly, not knowing what to do in this particular situation. What if Jack were to realize that he was next on their hit list? He would surely faint. Rai smirked and made more bots crash and fall, motivated by the utterly terrified look on Jack's face.

Jack Spicer continued to panic, but then his clone's head just hatched an idea.

"I'll go look for the Sheng Gong Wu! That way, we won't be defeated!"

Jack beamed at his brilliant creation.

"Great idea, Jack! Go down there and find the Wu!"

"Right!"

And with that, Jack's clone went down to earth on his helipack to find the Sheng Gong Wu.

Clay was still smashing them with much force and little movement, which suited him just fine. He was able to defeat more than several at one time, and not doing a bunch of little techniques like Raimundo.

But when he smashed another pile of robots, something didn't feel right. They were on this island to find a Sheng Gong Wu, not defeat the Jack-bots. Clay looked up to see that Raimundo was still beating up the hunks of metal mercilessly.

"_I better go look for the Wu. No bots are coming down anymore and I won't risk Jack finding it first. Rai can handle the rest by himself."_

Clay walked away, leaving Rai fighting in the air and demolishing the remaining robots. Instead of choosing to get lost in the jungle, he went to look on the shore. Clay searched under leaves, sea shells and dug a little in the sand, but he couldn't find that blasted Seer's Orb!

He was just about to give up and see if Jack had it, but then something caught his eye. A blue gleaming light under a leaf about twenty feet away.

"There it is!" he shouted, running as fast as he could to the blue object. He was absolutely SURE that was it!

Jack's clone saw the light too and he was determined to get it for the forces of evil and darkness, but not his original copy.

Jack was still hovering, wondering why his clone was taking so long, and then he saw them, some feet away and below going toward a blue dot.

"The Sheng Gong Wu!" shouted Jack, putting his helipack to maximum speed as he swooped down the grab the wu. He did NOT want to miss this! But he didn't realize that Raimundo heard his every word and saw the little blue object off in the distance.

"No!"

Rai dived down to Earth and ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the wu.

"_Just a little farther…"_

"_I HAVE to get it before Clay!"_

"_I'm gonna get that wu!"_

"_Not if I can help it, Spicer!"_

"YES!"

Four voices shouted at the same time. Four hands were on the Seer's Orb. Four people in a Xiaolin Showdown: A Xiaolin Showdown Tsunami!


	11. Chapter 11

WHEEE: LZfOx1379 (YAY! Thanks a bunch for standing up for me!) The Psychologist (hehe cool!), Bunny Raven Rulez, Nikana, SaphireStars, Soraetowaru, xSwtLilAngel666x, Negitive Zero, Flapdoodle-Rhadamante, and Amoral Butterfly

Chapter 11

"Hey! I was here first!" shouted all four in unison.

"No way! It was ME that put my hands on the ball first!" shouted Jack's clone, trying to pull it towards himself, but he was stopped by Clay's superior upper body strength.

"Now you're tellin' more lies than Cousin Jimmy on April Fool's Day!"

The two adolescents growled at each other for quite some time until Raimundo broke the electricity.

"Guys! C'mon! This is obviously a two vs. two man showdown- A Xiaolin Showdown Tsunami!"

Everyone stared blankly, but then it was Jack's turn to speak.

"We accept your challenge, Clay and Raimundo. I wager my Spiral of Demons."

Jack smirked and stuck his tongue out when Rai growled in desire and jealousy, determined not to lose what was rightfully his.

"And my Shroud of Shadows!" added Jack's clone.

Clay took out the Sheng Gong Wu out of his hat that he would wager. "Fine. I bet my Fists of Tebigong!"

"And I'll bet my Sword of the Storm! The game is a maze. Whoever makes it out first wins."

All four contestants nodded to each other and cried together: "Let's go! XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN TSUNAMI!"

Instantly, the island became taller. The trees were changing into different paths to become the walls. With a crashing boom, and a burst of white light, Jack and his clone took one side of the starting line while Clay and Raimundo took the other.

"GONG YI TAN PAI!"

Jack and his clone took the left parting path and Clay and Raimundo went right. The two Dragons raced down the path.

"So, any idea where we're going?" asked Raimundo.

"Nope. I couldn't even make it through this jungle WITHOUT it being a maze!"

Suddenly, the two dragons heard a swishing noise.

"What's that?"

Raimundo's question was soon answered when a bunch of vines shot out from one of the trees and its razor blades shot right through the bushes! Both Dragons began to panic as the vines came closer and closer and closer. Choosing a desperate course of action, Raimundo took out the Sword of the Storm.

"Sword of the Storm! WIND!"

Instantly, the vines stopped in their tracks and were blown away by the strong gusts of wind that came from the twirling sword.

"Alright, Rai!" Clay high-fived him and they continued down the path, confident that it would lead them to victory.

Jack and Jack's clone however were not having such luck. A few minutes past and they were at a dead end.

"Nice job, Jack!"

"Hey! I'M not the one that decided to take a wrong turn!"

Suddenly, both Jacks began to panic when they heard a low, defiant growl…that was directed to their planned dead carcasses.

"Jack, please tell me I'm the only one who heard that…" said the real Jack, clinging to his clone, cowering in fear.

Both Jacks turned around and the real Jack screamed in terror when they saw an obsidian black panther standing in their way of the exit.

"This is bad…" said Jack's clone, trying to think up a plan to get past the gigantic cat.

"SHROUD OF SHADOWS!"

Jack's clone covered up both him and Jack as the panther was still closing in on them, even though it couldn't see them.

"Why does it still know where we are?" Jack whispered, taking little baby steps away from the panther with his clone.

"It's using its sense of smell. We're gonna have to make a fast getaway on our helipacks if we want to make it out alive!"

Jack gulped and with a shaky finger, he turned on his gadget. His clone did the same and soon they were flying up in the air. The panther slashed at them with a sharp claw as the two had revealed themselves.

Jack's clone had Jack by the collar as he shouted in victory.

"Hah! Take that, you stupid cat!"

Jack's clone noticed that something was wrong with Jack. Jack was still shivering in fear. Something was definitely wrong.

"Jack, why are you still afraid? We won!"

"No, Jack. Um…I think I should tell you something…"

"What?"

Jack's clone raised an eyebrow as Jack gulped and confessed his new addition to his long list of hidden fears.

"Um…you know how I usually have to change the fuel tanks in our helipacks every week?"

"Yeah…" said Jack's clone, still thoroughly confused.

"Well, I sort of…forgot to do it."

"WHAT!"

As if on cue, their helipacks immediately shook and with a crunching sound, both Jacks fell to the ground, in dead path of the panther.

"You idiot!" Jack's clone screamed.

But they were both holding each other and screaming when the panther was running toward them, about to pounce.

As the panther approached, Jack reached into his pocket and activated his neglected Sheng Gong Wu.

"SPIRAL OF DEMONS!"

Instantly, the spiral in the center began to glow a bright gold and a skull appeared in the center, just like last time. The panther was stopped dead in its tracks when it saw a version of itself, staring its stricken face down with red eyes.

The two began to battle each other, giving Jack and his clone a chance to escape.

Clay and Raimundo had come to a few wrong turns themselves, but no panthers.

"Man…Rai, why a maze! Why not a race or a soccer game something? Something where we wouldn't get lost!" Clay snapped angrily, tired and sweat covered.

Rai hung his head in shame.

"Sorry, Clay. It was the first thing that came to mind."

Clay's expression softened. He knew that Rai was really sorry.

"Sorry I yelled, Rai." he said softly.

Rai nodded and smiled, accepting his apology.

But when he looked forward again, Rai's eyes bulged.

"LOOK OUT!" he screamed, grabbing Clay and pushing him to the other side of the pathway.

"W-What in tarnation-"

But Clay was stopped again when he lifted his hat. A huge tree crashed in dead sight on the ground.

"Woo-ee! Take a look at that!"

Rai did, but his attention turned forward again.

"Clay! We've got company!"

Clay looked up and grabbed Rai thrusting him in the other direction of the falling tree.

Clay and Rai saw in front of them about a whole entire wall of dead falling trees, each one bigger than the next.

Rai stared in fear, hi wobbly legs unable to balance his body for long.

"Oh man, Clay. H-H-How are we gonna defeat an infinite bunch of trees?"

Clay let a determined blue eye reveal itself from his hat.

"We're not. We're gonna go over them."

Rai looked up. The trees were taller than the clouds.

"And just how do you plan to do that, Clay?"

"By force."

Clay grabbed the Fists of Tebigong from under his hat and slipped them on, prepared to use up the most of his strength he ever had during a battle.

"FISTS OF TEBIGONG! EARTH!"

Instantly, a gigantic wave of solid rock emerged from the ground and like a tsunami, it crashed into the top of the trees, making them all fall to the ground with a crashing boom. Rai stared in wonder at Clay's awesome new technique. Clay returned on the ground with his hat tipped back.

"YEE HA! Now that's what I call Earth Power Kung-Fu cowboy style!"

Rai high fived Clay and used the Sword of the Storm to get them over the humongous pile of dead trees and dirt.

Around the corner, Clay and Rai saw a red light in the distance.

"Is that the end?" four voices said at once. Clay and Rai thrust their heads to the east to see that Jack and his clone standing at the corner opposite them.

"The Wu's ours, losers!" said Jack, his clone following him.

Rai grabbed Clay's hand and sprinted toward the wu. They would NOT lose this showdown…he would NOT lose his medallion for the second time…

Just a little farther…

Thrusting Clay forward with all of his strength, Rai held onto Clay's ankle as Clay went soaring through the air and into the blinding flash of red light, grabbing the wu before Jack and his clone.

They had won.


End file.
